Kukla's Korner Hockey

We are expecting an NHLPA counterproposal sometime today. There's a belief it will happen around 11 am (ET), but things seem to occur later than scheduled in this process.

The bigger question, of course, is what's going to be in the proposal. How much common ground will there be?

One potential hurdle involves pensions. I'm not privy to the exact details, but, apparently, the players are unhappy with how this issue is handled in theleague's latest package. That's not good news, because it seemed like the pension problem was settled weeks ago.

There are enough current landmines that nobody needs to see the return of a previous one. Especially when the escrow and transition rules promise to be enough trouble.

As much as we've discussed the proposed six-year (for another team's free agents) or seven-year (for your own) contract limits, the more I ask, the more I hear escrow is the greatest threat to a resolution.

One source said Sunday there were worries that escrow could hit 30 per cent if the NHL's proposal of a $60 million US cap was accepted (that includes the one compliance buyout counting against the players' share of hockey-related revenue, as currently proposed). No doubt the league would dispute that (saying that the lower the cap, the less they'd have to pay) but this is why both sides' accountants make money.